Ponte City, at 173m tall, is the tallest residential building in Africa and the second tallest building in
Johannesburg. Ponte is a round, hollow (toroidal) apartment building in Berea,
Johannesburg.
Ponte would be a very unremarkable building if it were not for two the legends surrounding it. Until advertising company Natanya placed a giant Coca-Cola banner on top of the building it was one of the most popular places in Johannesburg to commit suicide and had the highest number of suicide related falling deaths of any building in the world. The majority of jumpers jumped outwards, off the edge of the building, rather than in down the hollow core of the building. The Coca-Cola sign has since been replaced by one advertising cell phone network Vodacom. See Coca-Cola, Vodafone and Johannesburg.
The other interesting thing about Ponte City is it's place in the Johannesburg mythos. It is seen by almost everybody as a haven for criminals, prostitutes and Nigerians. While this used to be true, the police and town council have cleaned the place up a lot. It's still not completely savoury, however.
If you are in Johannesburg and feeling brave, Ponte city is well worth a close up look. Just be careful